March 14, 2007 -

Ottawa, Canada -- The Wizard of Oz, one of the most beloved films of all time, is coming to the National Arts Centre’s Southam Hall in a magical new production with the Oscar-winning musical score performed live by the NAC Orchestra from Thursday, March 22 to Saturday, March 24 on the CTV Pops Series. The presentation was created by John Goberman, Emmy-Award winning producer of Live from Lincoln Center, and the creator of the acclaimed A Night at the Oscars, which the NAC Orchestra presented in March 1999. The NAC Orchestra will be conducted by Constantin Kitsopoulos in his NAC debut.

The Wizard of Oz was a technical marvel for the MGM studio in the late 1930s. Today, MGM has stunningly re-mastered this timeless classic. The brilliantly restored images are accompanied by entirely new transcriptions of Harold Arlen and Herbert Stothart’s brilliant lost scores. John Goberman (who has 57 Emmy nominations and 12 Emmy Awards to his name) has painstakingly separated the film’s orchestral backing note by note from the voices of Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley and Bert Lahr in their 1939 studio recordings. Audiences will actually hear the NAC Orchestra accompanying Judy Garland as Dorothy in Somewhere Over the Rainbow, and the Tinman, Scarecrow and Cowardly Lion in We’re Off to See the Wizard. With this version of The Wizard of Oz, children and adults alike will be transported by the Oscar-winning film as they never have before, with the NAC Orchestra in full view below the action.

In summer of 2005, the program premiered to sold-out crowds at Wolf Trap and the Ravinia Festival. Claire Marie Blaustein of The Washington Post declared, “It was an exciting evening, and the grander message of this event was truly something I found in my own back yard – the five children sitting next to me…who had never seen the movie before. There were as enraptured at their first sights of the Emerald City as I was seeing it with new eyes.”

Tickets for The Wizard of Oz with the NAC Orchestra from March 22 to 24 are on sale now at $28.73, $48.54, $54.49, $63.40 and $68.36, with box seats at $93.12 (GST and Facility Fee included) at the NAC Box Office (Monday to Saturday from 10:00 to 21:00), and through Ticketmaster (with surcharges) at 613-755-1111. Ticketmaster may also be accessed through the NAC’s web-site at www.nac-cna.ca.

Half-price tickets for children and students in all sections of the hall are on sale in person at the NAC Box Office upon presentation of a valid student ID card. Same-day Live Rush tickets (subject to availability) for full-time students (aged 13 to 29) are $10 at the NAC Box Office between 14:00 and 18:00 on the day of performance only, upon presentation of a valid Live Rush card.

Groups of 10 and more save 15% to 20% off the regular price of tickets to NAC Music, Theatre and Dance performances. To reserve your seats call 947-7000 ext. 384 or email grp@nac-cna.ca.

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For more information please contact:
Jane Morris, Communications Officer,
National Arts Centre Orchestra
(613) 947-7000, ext. 335
jmorris@nac-cna.ca